


Deference

by thesometimeswarrior



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Family, Ficlet, Gen, Light Angst, Post-Episode: s06e19 I Am My Monster, Power Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28586019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesometimeswarrior/pseuds/thesometimeswarrior
Summary: “We’re going to leave,” Blue murmurs. “Yellow made the point that our continued presence here would not help Steven.”“Goodbye, then.” Pearl moves to pivot back to her family, but before she can, Blue continues.A moment between Pearl and the Diamonds on the beach, after Steven returns to himself.
Relationships: Blue Diamond & Pearl (Steven Universe), Pearl & Steven Universe, The Diamonds & Pearl (Steven Universe), The Diamonds & Steven Universe
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66





	Deference

They bring him back to the beach house, after, in something of a collective fashion. Pearl’s fingers rest on Steven’s curls as Garnet, flanked by Amethyst and Greg, carries him in her arms, and the rest of them follow a short distance behind. But when they reach the stairs to the porch, Pearl just barely notices the Diamonds draw back in her peripheral vision.

Blue Diamond utters her name, and in a previous life, this would be a demand for her attention, a prompt for her to salute, bow her head deferentially, await further instructions. Now, however, the cadence—not to mention the context—is different: soft, tentative, beseeching.

And as such, it’s almost not enough to cause Pearl to turn—how could anything pull her from Steven in this moment? If she had any residual energy in her gem, she might even be annoyed at Blue’s attempt to compete with him for her attention. But she doesn’t, and after a quick micro-calculation that ignoring the Diamonds now would almost certainly lead to drama later —which would pull her away from Steven for even longer just as he needs her most—she turns to Blue, arms at her sides, eyebrow raised expectantly. 

“We’re going to leave,” Blue murmurs. “Yellow made the point that our continued presence here would not help Steven.”

“Goodbye, then.” Pearl moves to pivot back to her family, but before she can, Blue continues.

“Will you...let us know how he progresses? Please?”

Pearl blinks. There’s no order here, just a desperate request, and though Blue doesn’t radiate it as a weapon like she did for millennia with her grief, that desperation is reflected in her eyes too, in the eyes of her companions. 

And that’s not all Pearl sees there. The Diamonds all gaze at her from their heights, angling their heads downward, and for half an instant, it’s almost as though they’re bowing them.

It almost looks, Pearl thinks, like _deference_. 

If the situation were different, this would either exhilarate or unnerve her. The Renegade would stand tall, would smirk, perhaps, flaunt her power over them and what it implied, while Pink Diamond’s Pearl would stammer and blush, and the Crystal Gem would do some combination of the two, hold these contradictions and turn them outward like she had so much else. 

But there’s no symbolism now. No grandiose statements to be made about the Empire, or the Authority, about hierarchy, or freedom. There’s just Steven, hurting.

There’s just them, who love him, reflecting on their respective parts in causing his hurt, trying to do right by him now.

Finally, Pearl meets their gazes. “If you’d like. If Steven agrees.”

“Thank you.”

Pearl doesn’t dwell on this. She nods once, then pivots on her heels to follow her family into the house. 

A moment later, when she happens to glance out the window while smoothing the blanket over Steven on the couch, the Diamond Ship is already gone from the beach.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I love comments!


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